Long-standing disputes will probably decide the Pattikonda finalists’ destiny
The Pattikonda Assembly constituency’s electorate is expected to be swayed by a number of factors, including the long-overdue construction of a tomato processing unit, the need to maintain water levels in water storage tanks, government hostels for women, labor migration, road widening in the town, road connectivity in rural villages, and a permanent solution to the problems of drinking water and irrigation.
The five mandals that make up the Pattikonda Assembly seat are Tuggali, Maddikera, Veldurthi, Pattikonda, and Krishnagiri. As of January 2024, there are 2,19,373 electors in total.
It is noteworthy that the constituency lacks a Polytechnic college and a government dormitory for women from rural areas wishing to study intermediate and bachelor’s degrees in Pattikonda town. The constituency’s residents also have to deal with the significant problem of water availability for agricultural production.
The administration have neglected to keep the water levels in the constituency sufficient for agricultural irrigation, despite the presence of many storage tanks, ponds, and reservoirs. When it came to resolving the local farmers’ water problems, even the elected authorities were falling behind.
The annual drought-like conditions caused by the drying up of water storage tanks are also having a domino effect on laborers who are moving to cities like Hyderabad, Guntur, and Bengaluru in search of daily wage jobs.
Pattikonda town resident K Ganesh said that there is no assistance for irrigating crops in the area, even though there are around 37 irrigation water tanks and ponds. He bemoaned the incompetence of government leaders and bureaucrats, who neglected to manage the water levels in storage tanks and reservoirs during the rainy season, resulting in the conversion of about 70% of the whole one lakh ayacut into farmlands that rely on rainfall.
He went on to say that all of the irrigation-related concerns and drinking water problems the Pattikonda constituency was facing would have been handled if the administration had kept the water in the tanks properly maintained.
Building a facility to process tomatoes is another long-standing desire of the farmers in this area. Every season, the tomato producers in Pattikonda grow the crop on around one lakh acres.
But most of the time, because of things like an abrupt drop in tomato prices and a dearth of marketing and storage options, growers end up throwing their labor-intensively produced tomatoes into the muck.
The State government has planned and prepared the groundwork for a tomato processing plant in Pattikonda on November 30, 2023, with a total project estimate of Rs 12 crore on an area of 3.60 acres, with the goal of supporting the tomato producers.
According to tomato producers, building has not yet started.
While the general population and farmers struggle to find enough water for drinking water and agricultural production, everyday commuters in the town region are complaining about the state of the roads and are calling for road widening.
Conversely, the poor state of the roads causes everyday struggles for the rural population as they commute between the settlements.
The MLA candidates in the constituency will be determined by the state of the roads, according to the Maddikera locals.
As part of her 2019 campaign, a number of villages claimed that the incumbent MLA had pledged to address their issues, but she had broken that commitment.
